Zelensky rejects US proposal to gain access to rare minerals from Ukraine

The president of Ukraine, Volodmir ZelenskyHe said he instructed his ministers not to approve a proposed deal to grant the United States access to Ukraine’s rare minerals, because the document was very focused on US interests.

The proposal, which was a fundamental part of Zelensky’s conversations with US Vice President Jd Vance, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday (14), offered no specific security guarantees in exchange for access to access to Minerals, according to a current and a former Ukrainian employee familiar with the negotiations.

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Zelensky’s decision not to sign the deal, at least for now, was described as a “short -sighted” by a high White House employee.

“I did not allow ministers to sign a relevant deal because, in my view, it is not ready to protect us, to protect our interests,” Zelensky told Associated Press on Saturday in Munich.

The proposal focused on how the United States could use Ukraine’s rare minerals “as compensation” for the support already provided to the country by the Biden government and as payment for future aid, they said today and former Ukrainian employees, who spoke anonymously to be able to express freely.

Ukraine has vast reserves of critical minerals used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries. The Trump administration indicated interest in accessing the United States’s dependence on China, but Zelensky stated that any exploration of these resources would need to be linked to safety guarantees for Ukraine in order to discourage future Russian aggressions.

The proposal focused on how the United States could use Ukraine’s rare minerals “as compensation” for the support already provided to the country by the Biden government and as payment for future aid, they said today and former Ukrainian employees, who spoke anonymously to be able to express freely.

“It’s a colonial agreement, and Zelensky can’t sign it,” said the former employee. White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes has not explicitly confirmed the offer, but said in a statement that “President Zelensky is being short-sighted regarding the excellent opportunity that the Trump government has presented to Ukraine.”

Help at risk

The Trump administration has been shown to get tired of sending more US help to Ukraine, and Hughes said that a mineral agreement would allow US taxpayers to “recover” part of the money sent to Kiev, while boosting the Ukrainian economy.

Hughes added that the White House believes that “solid economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future aggressions and an essential part of lasting peace.” He also said, “The US recognizes this, the Russians recognize this, and the Ukrainians need to recognize it.”

According to a high employee, US representatives in discussions with their Ukrainian colleagues in Munich were focused on commercial aspects, focusing mainly on the details of mineral exploration and how to form a possible partnership with Ukraine for this purpose.

The potential value of mineral deposits in Ukraine has not yet been discussed, as most reserves remain unexplored or close to the front line of the conflict.

The US proposal apparently did not take into consideration how deposits would be protected in case of continuous Russian aggression. The employee suggested that the US did not have “ready answers” ​​to this question and that one of the main points discussed in Munich will be how to ensure the safety of any mineral extraction operation in Ukraine involving people and infrastructure.

Any agreement must be in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and be acceptable to the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian high official said.

“The underground belongs to the Ukrainians, according to the Constitution,” said Kseniii Orychak, founder of the National Association of Ukraine Mining Industry, AP Previously, suggesting that an agreement would need popular support.

Zelensky and Vance did not discuss the details of the US document during their meeting on Friday at the Munich security conference, the top employee said. The meeting was “very good” and “substantial”, with Vance making it clear that his and Trump’s main goal was to achieve lasting and sustainable peace, the official said.

Zelensky told Vance that true peace requires Ukraine to be in a “strong position” when starting negotiations, emphasized that US negotiators should go to Ukraine and that the US, Ukraine and Europe must be at the negotiation table For conversations with Russia.

But General Keith Kellogg, a special envoy from Trump to Ukraine and Russia, practically excluded Europeans from any Ukraine-Russian negotiation, despite Zelensky’s request.

“The Ukrainians, the Russians, and clearly the Americans speaking,” Kellogg said at an event organized by a Ukrainian tycoon during the Munich security conference. When asked if this meant that Europeans would not be included, he replied: “I am from the school of realism. I think this won’t happen. ”

Ukraine is now preparing a “counter -proposal” that will be delivered to the US “in the near future,” said the official.

“I think it’s important that the vice president understands that if we want to sign something, we need to understand that it will work,” Zelensky told AP. This means, he said, “that it will bring money and security.”